The Baltimore Orioles go down the pike this evening to open the DC leg of the Battle of the Beltways. On a side note, and to show that these two cities are one region, Gunnar Henderson and Ryan Mountcastle apparently were in attendance at last night’s Washington Capitals playoff game.
The Orioles of course come in reeling given the fact that they fell to Cincinnati on Sunday, 24-2. That’s a tough score to see. However it’s also fair to mention that the final nine runs of the game were surrendered by position players as pitchers. Many will say that’s irrelevant because they still scored. And that’s true. Others will say the real pitching staff still surrendered 13 runs! Also true.
End of the day, you can also look at the game and say that the only pitcher (aside from Charlie Morton) to appear with any sort of regularity who was used was Cionel Perez. The likes of Cano, Bautista, among others weren’t torched in this game. If you want a positive spin, there it is.
However the way you forget about a game like that in baseball is…simply to forget about it. You play 162 games. If you let this one game magnify in your mind, it’s going to stay there. The off day yesterday helps. So does going out on the road immediately, despite still technically being local.
Here’s one thing that should start happening. The pitching woes are due in large part to injuries. When you lose your top rotation guys, it’s tough to make ends meet. However we’ve seen a lot of frustration from the Oriole dugout regarding revolving strike zones. Brandon Hyde even said over the weekend that guys need to take up for themselves.
Ironically, I disagree there to a point. You don’t want the reputation of a complainer as a player. Gunnar Henderson on Sunday looked like he was about to say something to the home plate umpire about the zone, and while it was warranted I applaud the control.
Having said that, I think the pressure needs to come from Brandon Hyde. Am I saying he should go and get kicked out of a game at some point arguing balls and strikes? I suppose I am. As Earl Weaver said once, it’s better for the manager to get thrown out than players. And I would submit that if he does it, he should get his money’s worth. The one game he was thrown out of this year it happened while he was in the dugout (and quite frankly it was a very quick hook). Go out there and make a spectacle of it.
One way or the other, the Orioles will take on the Washington Nationals in DC starting tonight. DC’s famous for its Half Smokes, but…aren’t we all really just Crab Cake people?! And I say that as the grandson of a former Washington Senators farmhand who made a heck of a Crab Cake every Christmas Eve!
The series will begin tonight at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. Dean Kremer gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Washington’s Mitchell Parker. Game time is set for 6:45 PM.
Birdland Crush 